Dangnabit. New video card wont fit old motherboard. DON'T GO DOWN THE UPGRADE PATH FOLKS!

[What User Name]

I just RMA'd a sapphire 7870 video card, it had a black screen problem. I then upgraded approximately one step t a EVGA gtx 760 card. I *thought* there was a standard that was adhered to in these things, but live and learn. The SATA ports on my old 755 benica (ASUS) motherboard are in the way. My "on the cheap" upgrade path has failed me. It was a hp desktop that had vista on it. So I bought:

WIn 7 (now wasted, right? OEM, has been installed for a month.)
Rosewill 550 watt power supply. Will sail again in new build.

e8600 $30 ebay processor. Meh.Maybe try to ebay it, but whatever. Did speed things up a bit over the e2200 that was there before.

New high performance heat sink/ cooling fan for above

EVGA GTX 760 card. Will sail again.

Corsair Neutron 240 gb SSD. Will sail again. (Can I format that before I build the new system, or do I do on new mother board, but before I load a NEW COPY OF WIN 7?)

Here is the shopping list for tonight:



White Enermax Hoplite ST Mid Tower Computer Case, Integrated 3-Step Fan Speed Controller, Front USB 3.0, w/ Dual 120mm Fans, P/N: ECA3261-W

White Enermax Hoplite ST Mid Tower Computer Case, Integrated 3-Step Fan Speed Controller, Front USB 3.0, w/ Dual 120mm Fans, ...
Item #: N82E16811124154
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

-$15.00 Instant


$84.99
$69.99




G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-2133C9D-8GXL

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-2133C9D-8GXL
Item #: N82E16820231689
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy



$79.99




BIOSTAR Hi-Fi Z87X 3D LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

BIOSTAR Hi-Fi Z87X 3D LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813138380
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy

Protect Your Investment (expand for options)

-$30.00 Instant


$149.99
$119.99




Intel Core i7-4770 Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770

Intel Core i7-4770 Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770
Item #: N82E16819116900
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy

Protect Your Investment (expand for options)



$309.99




Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116986
Return Policy: Software Standard Return Policy

There is no way that the big honking video card would not fit on the new stuff, right?

My failed upgrade path cost about 250 bucks. Should of just built the new machine right off the bat. PITA to reload all the stuff on the SSD.

Just venting. I just want to make sure the stuff is going to fit also.

 

[USAFRet]

Upgrading is fine.
Upgrading a prebuilt HP/Compaq/Dell....not so much. Sometimes, things do not fit.

 

[kulmnar]

Installing new video cards (or other hardware) in a pre-built retail system is always with risk, especially for HP and Dell systems. If you are buying a low end gaming card, buy your video card at a retail store in person with a 100% refund policy. For example, for cheap gaming you can buy a Zotac 650 ti video card at BestBuy. Try it out, if it doesn't fit/work, just return it for a 100% refund. Higher end video cards however are almost impossible to buy at retail stores with 100% refund policies.

However, if you are buying a high end video card, you should be willing to either completely build your own system or buy one of the high priced pre-built gaming systems (Alienware, FalconNorthwest, OriginPC).

 

[What User Name]

^^^Yeah, thought I had my basses covered with new power supply etc. At any rate, I am sure the 6 year old MB and ddr2/ e8400 will hold back the GPU to some degree. PCI 1.0 and all that. I will say for the week or so I had the 7870 card in there, it played sky rim on high settings pretty nicely. The SSD is pretty cool too.